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Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.

A Master of Sequins

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

The Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.

Pulling from History

These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

The Coveted Retro Style

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City

The expert says this figure are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

An Allure of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.